Most people are like sheep. Nice, harmless creatures who want nothing more than to be left alone so they can graze. But then of course there are wolves. Who want nothing more than to eat the sheep.But...
What makes humans special is our need to rationalize our actions.
Sometimes I think the urge to believe in our own worldview is our most powerful intellectual imperative, the mind's equivalent of feeding, fighting, and fornicating. People will eagerly twist facts in...
It's a strange thing, having a child, he said. It completely alters your most fundamental priorities. When my eldest daughter was born, I realized that I would do anything - anything - to protect her....
Only teasing', Death seemed to be saying over his shoulder with a rictus smile, with good humor and an oddly paternal affection. 'Take care of yourself, okay? We'll play again.
Anger, and the self-righteousness that is both the cause and consequence of anger, tends to be easier on the psyche than personal responsibility.
Some people just need killing.
One possibility, sure. What are the others? He’s retired, isn’t he? Larison
— E acabei por ir a casa dela para lhe configurar o sistema todo.— Harry, «configuraste-lhe o sistema todo»? — perguntei, arregalandoos olhos e fingindo-me pasmado.Baixou o olhar, mas não conseguiu es...
My American and Japanese personalities are distinct, and I carry myself differently depending on which language I’m using and which mode I’m in.
In some ways, the neighborhood was the poster child for bad zoning. There were shiny glass-and-steel condominiums across from corrugated and I-beam parking garages. Single-family homes perched alongsi...
I knew the persona I was inhabiting—moneyed Japanese gaming enthusiast—would lack crucial verisimilitude if the persona in question had never set eyes on Las Vegas.
I considered. As Tatsu noted, if word got out, the efficacy of the camera network would be compromised. But there was more.
Sang-froid
Medicine isn’t supposed to taste good—that’s what candy is for. Medicine is supposed to make you better.
I wandered the earth a mercenary, daring the gods to kill me but surviving because part of me was already dead.
A bodyguard. Sounded possible. The guy hadn’t recognized me, I’d seen that. He was probably here just for protection and surveillance tag team. Or he could have been the triggerman. The Agency relies...
Killing is the ultimate expression of hatred and fear, as sex is the ultimate expression of romantic love and desire. And, as with sex, killing a stranger who has otherwise provoked no emotion is inhe...
Why didn’t you just come to my apartment? He smiled. Where you live is always where you are most vulnerable because it represents a possible choke point for an ambush. And I would not wish to surprise...
Taliskers.